Dinner party
by ifellintoyourarms
Summary: For a first time in her life Phryne Fisher had nothing to say.
1. About being a gentleman

Hello everyone!

This was in my head for few days and I just needed to get it out. I do apologize about my English, but I really hope that you will enjoy the story

''Mister Robinson for you, Ma'am.''

As elderly butler went out, woman was left alone with a stranger. Handsome, no doubt, and rather kind looking. She smiled at him „Good evening Mr. Robinson, I believe we hadn't pleasure to meet."

„Good evening Mrs. Fisher!" Jack smiled back at woman. She was about 60 years old, with kind, dark eyes, dark hair with silvery threads in them, and very graceful.

„I do apologize about my unexpected visit, you see, I am an old friend of Miss Fisher's and I was hoping to meet her here."

Before woman managed to answer, butler came in with pot of tea, two cups and biscuits neatly folded on white porcelain plate.

„Will that be all Ma'am?" He asked politely.

„Yes, thank you Johnson!" she replied and the butler went out closing door behind him.

„Please, do sit down" she said and sat down herself, „So you are an old friend of Phryne's?"

„Yes" Jack responded and sat down on a very comfortable sofa right in front of her, „I know she recently went away from Australia and I was almost certain she has already arrived. " he took a pause before continuing, his heart skipped a beat when it finally hit him that she might not be here, and God forbid, something happened to the plane and Phryne is in the depths of ocean or at some deserted island with no dashing hero to save her this time, only her father to annoy her, „Is everything all right?"

Mrs. Fisher immediately heard the change in man's voice sitting in front of her. She was old enough to know how sounded man's voice when he was madly in love and worried. She smiled at him thinking to herself that yet another poor man has fallen under her mischievous daughters spell, with no hope, of course.

„Yes," she responded with light amusement, „Everything is quite all right. There was a few day delay because of the weather, but my daughter and husband should be arriving tomorrow morning."

Jack blushed in shame. His had was so full with thoughts of Phryne that existence and well-being of one Henry Fisher was forgotten in a moment when plane went up in the sky. Before he got a chance to apologize, Mrs Fisher took a teapot in her hands and asked „Would you care for a cup of tea?"

When the door shut behind him, Jack smiled at himself. It was clear now from where woman he loved so dearly got her charms, also he had a lovely conversation with Mrs Fisher and at the end he got an invitation to dinner held tomorrow evening in honour of Miss Fishers and Barons arrival, Phryne's mother promised him not to tell her daughter who the guest will be. Jack was sure it was because she thought he was one of her past lovers and if Phryne knew who is coming, she might find an excuse not to go. „It will be a nice surprise for her, to see an old friend" – She told him. Jack was rather ashamed in that moment – God knows what Phryne's mother was thinking of him, but the joy of surprising miss Fisher herself bubbled in him, and still smiling he walked down to the street to get a cab.

Phryne shut her old bedrooms door behind her. Finally she was home – mother was so happy to see her after all this time that her hug had almost broken Phryne's ribs.

Now all she wanted was peace and quiet. Well, that was not all, she admitted to herself – stiff drink, bath and some news from Australia would be lovely. Particularly from one Detective Inspector, who after kissing her so passionately hadn't written a line to her, not one of her telegrams got a response and by this time she felt as disappointed as never before in her life.

"Come after me" she told him. In Phryne's mind that was almost the same as telling him "I love you", and thank heavens she didn't because if he wouldn't respond to her, than her heartbreak would be even more painful.

To annoy her even more, Mother said that there will be dinner for celebrating her and father's arrival, some family friends and relatives will be coming. And then some old friend.

Phryne could imagine about a dozen of these, so called, old friends who would like to visit her, and only thing she was wondering about, was how could they know that she was in town so quickly.

"Oh well" she thought to herself "If London is coming to see me, they will see me shining."

When made came in, Phryne ordered to get ready her most exquisite gown and wake her up after few hours.

Several hours later she woke up in even worse mood, and going to some boring London dinner was not on her mind. But mother would never let her stay in bed, so she got up.

''Oh, If only Dot would be here.'' She missed her household so dearly. They meant so much more to her then she was willing to admit, but If Mister B would be here, there would be a drink on her table even before she had left the bed.

After bath she put on her make- up and got dressed. Only when Phryne was sure she looked dashing, she left the room and went downstairs, not as much for company, as something stronger to burn down her bad mood and heartbreak.

Laughter was already filling the living room.'' Some stiff jokes '' she thought to herself, but put on her brightest fake smile and went into the room.

"Darling, how nice that you are finally down" mother said smiling cheerfully. Phryne took a good look around the room. There was her uncle Peter, cousins Elizabeth and Victoria, some mothers friends she couldn't remember names of, and a man sitting in the big armchair next to the fireplace – he didn't got up when she entered the room and from her point of view only his feet were visible.

"Darling, you do remember Uncle Peter, don't you?"

"Yes, mother." Phryne responded as politely as she could. With every second her irritation grew.

"And your younger cousins of course," Mrs Fisher continued "Mrs and Mr Phillipsons and my good -friend Lydia Reed"

"How nice to see you all" Phryne smiled to all of them. None of these people were interesting, they all were a bunch of snobs and she couldn't understand why mother even bothered to entertain them.

"Oh, I do apologize" she spoke again, "I almost forgot your friend, Mr Jack Robinson".

Phryne's heart stopped, and as Jack rose from his chair, her jaw fell open. It was him, smiling his dashing smile dressed in tuxedo and standing in her mother's living room.

Slowly he crossed the room and stopped in front of her, Jack's eyes were sparkling with amusement when he saw in what state of surprise, shock even, Phryne was.

"Good evening, Miss Fisher! How lovely to see you again!"

She just stared at him, for a first time in her live Phryne Fisher had nothing to say.

She blinked her eyes and found her heart beating like crazy.

"Jack!" she whispered. He was here, he had followed her and he loved her. Now she was sure.

Seconds later she felt like flying – feeling that scared living soul out of her, Phryne smiled at Detective Inspector, not as she usually did – witty and flirtatious, but happily.

After dinner when everyone was busy with their conversations, Phrayne and Jack slipped out in the garden.

She was back to her usual self and already had thrown some flirtatious comments to him, Jack silently admitted to himself that in past 4 weeks he had missed it, missed her.

"I'm sorry, Miss Fisher" he started in his low voice.

"What about, Jack?" she asked as her heart skipped a beat in a fear that he had come to England only to say to her that he was mistaken.

"I'm sorry about not being a gentleman." And with that he pulled Phryne close to him and kissed her.


	2. About the other liberally minded woman

Hey guys! Thank you for lovely reviews!

This story was supposed to be one shot, but my imagination wondered, so might be few more chapters.

Hope you will enjoy! : )

X

This time it was different. Nobody was going to disturb them and nobody was watching. His hands were around her waist, pulling her closer, as he tasted her wonderful lips. For a long time Jack hadn't felt anything like it, and to be honest, he doubted that anything else on this whole wide world could make his heart run like this. She had his heart, completely and utterly under her spell.

When Jack finally withdrew Himself from Phryne, she was smiling, her eyes were sparkling like the starry sky, below which he tried to kiss her for the first time, and her red lipstick was smudged in rather pleasant way around her mouth.

„Well Jack, I must admit that your gentleman manners are quite unexpected."

He smirked back to her silently and pulled out a handkerchief „Miss Fisher, if you want my manners to stay a secret, we better clean off that smeared lipstick."

Phryne chuckled lightly „Can you give me a helping hand?" No doubt that was an invitation to smear her lipstick even more, but for his amusement Jack started to carefully clean her chin. She laughed a bit louder and pulled Jack in for another breathless kiss.

X

When about ten minutes later they returned to the living room, Phryne's lips were freshly painted and Jack was trying his best not to look guilty as a schoolboy after doing something obviously forbidden.

But the problem with small parties is that nothing goes by unnoticed - and after Phryne and Jack sat down on one of the couches in the furthest corner of the room one of Phryne's cousins – Elizabeth – came along to have a chat.

Elizabeth and Victoria annoyed Phryne. They both were two snobbish girls which were raised in wealth and boredom. None of them had sense of adventure or fun, they loved to gossip too much and had yet to find a husband to marry - it was aim of life for both of them. And Mr Jack Robinson with his charm and good looks were the apple of Elizabeth's eye.

„Good evening, Mr Robinson was it?" she introduced herself with a big and sugary smile on her face.

„We noticed that you both were gone for a while, had any fun?" Elizabeth asked in unseemly and direct way, closely watching Jacks face. Being his usual self Jack blushed a little, while smile on Elizabeth's face got even sweeter.

„Dearest Elizabeth," Phryne cut in unceremoniously „We and Mr Robinson here have a business to talk about. You see, we both are detectives in Australia and I would appreciate if you could let us have a private conversation about particularly difficult case."

Elizabeth's tone got cold „ Very well, but me and my sister Victoria would appreciate if Mr Robinson could accompany us to theatre tomorrow evening, there is Hamlet's premiere and we would love to show our Australian friend some classical piece of art, what do you say, Mr Robinson?"

Jack was in a bit of a shock. Turns out that almost everyone in Phryne's family was liberally minded. After a second he responded „I'm sorry, Miss Elizabeth, but I already have plans for tomorrow evening." He responded as politely as he could, although a sense of bubbling laughter in his chest was hard to suppress.

„What a pitty, maybe some other time, Mr Robinson?"

Jack blinked his eyes. He was not prepared to deal with this kind of situation considering that only two thought on his mind at the moment was Phryne and her soft lips.

„Yes, I would be delighted" there was nothing else he could think of, but deep inside he hoped that „some other time" will turn out „never", although if someone from Miss Fisher's family was involved that will not be the case and he was sure of it.

„Excellent!" Phryne heard a triumph in her cousin's voice, and with winning smile Elizabeth left Phryne and Jack to their conversation.

„You must have quite an impressive evening plan to turn down Shakespeare! " she teased.

„I was hoping to have dinner with you, Miss Fisher, but if you want me to accompany your cousins to theatre instead... " he smirked at her and his eyes studied her lips.

Phryne laughed cheerfully „How very gentleman of you, Jack, I hope you won't be so well mannered tomorrow evening!"

X

It was somewhat before midnight when guests started to leave. And soon enough Jack and Elizabeth were the only ones left besides Phryne and her mother. Baron had excused himself and went to bed quite early – trip with the plane had gotten better of him and there were no company that could made him stay up longer.

„Thank you for lovely evening, Mrs Fisher, but it's quite late and I must be going."

„I hope you will visit us again Mr Robinson" she said with a smile on her face. Mrs Fisher had no doubt that she will be seeing a lot more of Mr Robinson, given that almost all evening he spoke with no one else except her daughter and that she had never seen Phryne so interested in any other man before. Mrs Fisher was almost certain that Jack was something else than just „old friend", but she liked the man and from what she had seen tonight – her daughter liked him even more.

„I must be going too, you were lovely as always Mrs Fisher, and it's always so nice to visit you. And you cousin – I hope we can meet up soon and you could tell me all about your life in Australia."

Phryne endowed her with a fake smile, but her mother kissed Elizabeth on the cheek „It was lovely to see you too, my dear!"

„Mr Robinson, would you be so kind to escort me home? It's quite late and London at night can be dangerous place" Elizabeth spoke in her most innocent tone.

It took all of Phryne's will power not to roll her eyes, and looking at her,Jack almost started to chuckle, obviously, he couldn't say no and few minutes later Jack and Elizabeth went out in the foggy night.

X

„Thank you very much, Mr Robinson, you are real gentleman" Elizabeth said in coquettish tone, when they finally found a cab to get her home.

„By the way, you still have a red lipstick on the corner of your lip" and giggling to herself she shut the cab door and drove away.

„Dear God, where have I gotten myself into?" Jack thought to himself while his face was taking tone of crimson red. Thankfully nobody could see him, and feeling weird mixture of excitement and shame he headed back to hotel.


End file.
